Callahan, Raiders can / Running game back -- defense stifling

RAIDERS-C-08SEP02-SP-JMM.jpg Raider quarterback #12 Rich Gannon scampers for a 8 yard gain in the first quarter of action. The Oakland Raiders vs. the Seattle Seahawks in Oakland, Ca. September 8, 2002. Carlos Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle less

RAIDERS-C-08SEP02-SP-JMM.jpg Raider quarterback #12 Rich Gannon scampers for a 8 yard gain in the first quarter of action. The Oakland Raiders vs. the Seattle Seahawks in Oakland, Ca. September 8, 2002. Carlos ... more

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RAIDERS-C-08SEP02-SP-JMM.jpg Raider quarterback #12 Rich Gannon scampers for a 8 yard gain in the first quarter of action. The Oakland Raiders vs. the Seattle Seahawks in Oakland, Ca. September 8, 2002. Carlos Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle less

RAIDERS-C-08SEP02-SP-JMM.jpg Raider quarterback #12 Rich Gannon scampers for a 8 yard gain in the first quarter of action. The Oakland Raiders vs. the Seattle Seahawks in Oakland, Ca. September 8, 2002. Carlos ... more

Callahan, Raiders can / Running game back -- defense stifling

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Say this about the Raiders' somewhat definitive 31-17 season-opening victory Sunday at Network Associates Coliseum -- it was decided early, even if the outcome teetered a bit in the fourth quarter. As soon as Seattle's defense, confounded and winded by a surprise no-huddle attack, called a timeout less than two minutes into the game, the Raiders' offense knew it was on to something.

When Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander, he of the Herculean 266-yard effort last November, was smothered for a whopping 16 first-half yards, the Raiders' defense knew their in-your-face play and confusing array of schemes were working.

"It was beautiful; guys flying around," said linebacker Bill Romanowski, who was freed up to make plays in the Raiders' change-up 3-4 scheme. "I like this scheme, I really do."

Which one? Heck, the Raiders' switched defensive looks so often even they lost track, with the run-clogging roadblock of Sam Adams and John Parrella allowing the ends and linebackers to swarm to the ball.

The two-pronged rushing attack of Charlie Garner and Tyrone Wheatley finally yielded a single 100-yard runner for a team that failed to do that in the 2001 regular season. Wheatley's power game opened the path for Garner's finesse and a 15-carry, 127-yard afternoon. Garner also scored twice in the second quarter, reaching the end zone on a 20-yard run and catching a 26-yard scoring pass from Rich Gannon. The Raiders, who put up 423 total yards, used so many options offensively that "Seattle probably wondered when I was gonna catch a pass," guard Frank Middleton joked.

Evidently, that every-man-for-himself Raiders' standard of 2001 is nothing more than a memory, and a rallying cry for a new era of every man to the ball.

"We wanted to be physical from the onset," said Raiders coach Bill Callahan,

who established himself as a "fun" guy in his debut as an NFL head coach. "We wanted to establish a physical presence up front, on both the offensive and defense. And I thought our units were cohesive."

"Bill (Callahan) told us to go out and have a good time with it, to have fun," said Romanowski, who clearly gleans his fun from smashing opposing running backs.

The legacy of Alexander's performance last fall manifested itself in the complete overhaul of the Raiders' defense. Nine new starters, all big and fast,

led in heft by 330-pound Adams, combined to hold Seattle's offense to 186 yards -- and a measly 43 on the ground.

Oakland's offense, meanwhile, surprised the crowd of 53,260 -- and the Seahawks, no doubt -- by eschewing the huddle in most of its first-half drives.

Gannon, finding a rhythm with new offensive coordinator Marc Trestman in his ear, also had freedom to call audibles and direct teammates at the line of scrimmage.

"The idea was to keep them guessing, and that's what we did," said Gannon, who completed 19 of 28 passes for 214 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Alexander, whose total against the Raiders last season was the fourth-most ever in an NFL game, never had a chance. Before he finally broke free for what qualified this day as a big gainer -- a 9-yard burst inside the two-minute warning before halftime -- Alexander's first eight runs totaled eight yards. He finished with 36 yards on 13 carries.

The Raiders switched freely from their base 4-3 defense to a 3-4 with Parrella as the nose. They clogged the defensive line with five up front and two back, rattling embattled Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and leaving Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren tempted to prop up the injured Trent Dilfer, bad knee and all, and send him out there.

"It's a lot different this year," said Raiders defensive end Tony Bryant, one of the few returning starters from last season. "We've got linebackers coming down to play ends, we've got Romanowski and Travian Smith flying at the quarterback. Offenses don't know what's going on."

The Raiders scored on three of their four second-quarter possessions to jump to a 28-7 halftime lead, then padded it to 31-7 on Sebastian Janikowski's 27-yard field goal with 9:02 left in the third quarter.

But two fourth-quarter turnovers by the Raiders put Seattle in position to crawl back. Randy Jordan fumbled at the Seattle goal line, but the wide-open recovery return by Shawn Springs was thwarted after 71 yards when Gannon -- taking a 30-yard angle -- hauled him down at the Raiders' 25-yard line. The Seahawks settled for a field goal, cutting the lead to 31-10.

On the Raiders' next series, Gannon's pass to Jerry Porter was deflected and intercepted by Willie Williams at the Seattle 47, setting up Hasselbeck's 11-yard scoring pass to Alexander with 5:44 remaining.

"I didn't think I was very sharp at times, and there is a lot to work on," Gannon said. "But I like the way we played together. I saw a lot of good things from this team, and we're only going to get better."